The Benefits of Driving a Hatchback

What’s not to love about a hatchback?

We’ve written before about how most Americans prefer sedans to a hatch, a phenomenon we don’t entirely understand. Part of us feels like to each his own. You fill your garage with sedans; I’ll enjoy my Mazdaspeed 3 — and also my Mazdaspeed 6, because we get it: sedans can be great too. Live and let live. On the other hand, the fact that people overwhelmingly prefer sedans is part of the reason we haven’t seen the new Mazda 2 in this country. We can sit and stew about this, or we can tell you the benefits of driving a hatchback. If you’re already on board, tell us in the comments what perks we missed.

1. More storage room

Want to drive your mountain bike up to the cabin you just rented for the weekend? No problem! If you drive a hatchback, that is. You can compare just about any two models of the same car, and the hatchback beats the sedan for storage space every time. Without that extra room taken up by the barrier between the back seat and the trunk, you can fill your hatch with boxes, a dog crate, or any piece of recreational equipment you want. If you need more space, add a luggage rack — but 99.9% of the time, if you drive a hatchback, you won’t need more.

2. More headroom

A lot of sedans are made with average heights in mind. That’s fine if you’re 5’10” on the dot or anything below, but if you’re even slightly taller, you’re gonna feel cramped. The solution: A hatchback. Hatches tend to have a lot more clearance, so no more bumping your head when you step in and out of the driver’s seat. It’s downright roomy in there.

3. Better resale value

This can change from car to car, but as topyaps pointed out, “Hatchbacks have the highest resale value and significantly much better than that of a sedan.” Of course, few of us can see ourselves parting with our dear Mazdaspeed 3s anytime soon, but we all know that one day we’ll have to trade our baby in — if only because the new 2017 Mazdaspeed 3 is finally released. If you want to get the most bang for your buck and recuperate some of the initial cost, buy a hatchback, not a sedan.

4. Same mileage

What’s that, you say? All of these benefits without a higher cost at the gas pump? It’s true, usually. Hatchbacks tend to have around the same gas mileage as their sedan counterparts, so you don’t have to fork over more money as the years pass. They’re great cars; they’re practical; and they’re as efficient as any sedan. Are you sold yet? If not, take a ride in your buddy’s MS3. If the other benefits of driving a hatchback don’t sway you, that will.